


Somewhere That's Filled With Sun and Lovely Things

by littlebitlostandfound



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: F/F, Separation Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:26:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23768443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebitlostandfound/pseuds/littlebitlostandfound
Summary: Cathy needs to leave for a business trip, and Mae doesn't cope very well.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Catherine Parr
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

“Say goodbye to mama, she’ll be back soon.”

Parr crouches down to Mae’s level and hugs her fiercely. As the person who had assembled the queens together in the first place, naturally she was chosen to do the most press, and that involved being away for days at a time. It was usually no problem, but that was before her daughter had come along.

Now, she wished they had chosen someone else.

“Be good for the others, okay? I’ll call everyday.” Parr hides the tremor in her voice as she kisses her hairline. “And tell Annie over here to call me whenever you need me.”

Mae also fights back tears—she’s only gotten her back for a while, she didn’t know that she’d be gone again so soon. Her little chin wobbles as she manages a swift nod.

“Mama,” Mae whispers, then presses her nose against Parr’s. _Bunny kisses,_ she called them. “Home quick, okay?”

“Oh, yes, baby,” Parr exhales, cupping her face and kissing her nose. “I’ll be home before you know it.”

Parr gives her another hug before glancing up at Anne, who was watching the whole exchange by the door frame.

“Please tell me if anything happens,” Parr looked at Anne earnestly, and she nods, putting her hand on the crown of Mae’s head.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got her.” Anne smiles, picking Mae up and settling her on her hip as Parr moves to load her suitcase in the car. Mae didn’t scream or thrash in Anne’s arms like she was expecting, but instead laid her head on her shoulder as she waved to her mum, tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

Parr rolls down the window and waves enthusiastically, blowing her flying kisses as the car drives away. Anne hikes Mae higher up.

“Come on, let’s get inside,” Anne steps back and closes the door behind her, settling Mae down on one of the kitchen stools. “Do you want to do anything today, Mae? It’s already a bit late to go out, but I’m sure there’s lots to do in here.”

Mae shakes her head. Even if she had the option, she wouldn’t want to go anywhere new without her mama experiencing it with her too.

“Hey, darling,” Anne moves around the counter and situates herself in front of Mae. “I know you’re sad that your mama’s away, but imagine all the fun things you can do today, you can tell her all about it before you go to sleep. I’m sure she’d love to hear all about it.”

Mae looks up at Anne, regarding her for a moment.

“No, thank you,” Mae sighs. She clambers down from the seat and heads upstairs to her and Parr’s shared room, and Anne follows slowly behind. Once she reaches the door, she peeps through the crack and she spots Mae taking the framed photo of them from Parr’s desk before curling up around it on the bed, sobbing quietly into the pillow.

Anne’s heart breaks at the sight of her.

“What are you looking at, hasn’t Cathy already left?” Anne hears a voice from behind her–Jane’s, of course–and she immediately turns around and shushes her in fear that Mae might hear.

“She has, and Mae’s not taking it very well,” Anne whispered, stepping back to let Jane peek through as well. She gasps, her hand flying up to her chest.

“Oh, poor thing!” Jane breathes, unable to take her eyes off the child. “How long has Cathy been gone?”

“Like 30 minutes. And Cathy’s going to be away for four days.” Anne sighs, running her hand through her hair. “I know Cathy’s extremely hands on, but I didn’t realize how attached she actually was.”

“We’ll all need to distract her from thinking about her mum,” Jane quips, and Anne could only nod. She peeks through the crack again and noticed that Mae had already drifted off to sleep, apparently tiring herself out from crying.

“I’ll make sure to tell the others,” Jane says, squeezing Anne’s shoulder. “You think she’ll be good for a while? I need a bit of help with dinner.”

Anne keeps the door slightly ajar before joining Jane downstairs in the kitchen. Over dinner, they had informed the other queens about Mae and they all promised to be extra attentive for the next few days. She had half a mind to wake Mae up, but opted to bring her meal upstairs to her instead.

The minute she walks in, Anne notices Mae soaked in sweat, the picture frame pushed away due to her thrashing. She immediately settles the tray of food by the bedside and leans down next to her, putting a firm hand on stomach to ground her.

“Hey, Mae, it’s alright, it’s just me,” Anne soothes, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her other hand and tapping her index finger on her stomach to coax her awake. “It’s just a dream, darling, it’s okay, I’ve got you.”

Mae’s eyes flash open, and she looks up Anne blearily. “Mama?”

“No, darling, it’s Annie,” Anne keeps her voice low, transferring Mae into her lap. “Do you want me to phone Cathy?”

Mae nods her head against her chest. She takes her phone out of her pocket and dials her number. Parr picks up on the first ring.

“Hey Anne, how’s everything? How’s Mae?” Mae hears Parr’s familiar voice from the speaker, and she immediately wails.

“Here, hold on, let me put you on video,” Anne quickly suggests, pulling the phone away from her ear and holds it in front of Mae. Parr’s smiling face appears on the screen, but quickly morphs into one of concern the minute she sees her daughter crying into Anne’s chest.

“Oh, baby, what happened?” Parr hums sadly, her arms aching to console her daughter. Anne smoothes Mae’s hair down with her free hand while encouraging her to look at the camera. “Look, Mae, it’s your Mama.”

“Hey, sweet girl. Mama misses you so much!” Parr smiles enthusiastically through the screen, trying to lift her spirits. Mae cranes her head slightly to look, wiping her tears away with her fists. Parr waves the minute she catches her eye and Mae waves back, still weepy but mostly enthralled that she was able to communicate with her mum through a tiny screen. “There you are, my love. Hello.”

“Hi, Mama,” Mae whispers, her voice hoarse from the crying. Even through the static, Parr could tell her daughter was exhausted. “Miss you. Come home, please.”

“Baby, you know I would if I could. Just a couple more days, okay? Can you be brave for Mama?” Parr croons, leaning back against the headboard. In all honestly, she didn’t know if she could last a few days herself.

“I don’t wanna be brave. I want you.” Mae sniffles, and Anne presses a kiss on the top of her head.

“Oh, baby, you’re making me cry,” Parr exhales shakily, swallowing the lump in her throat. “I want nothing more than to be with you right now, my love. Just a few more days, I promise.”

“Okay,” Mae reaches up and taps her nose, and Parr chuckles through her tears, tapping her own nose twice. “I love you, Mama.”

“Mama loves you too, baby. Is it alright if I talk to Annie off the video for a while?” Parr asks. “Real quick, then we can go back to talking over video again.”

Mae nods and Anne takes Parr off the video and speaker. Anne reaches around and sets the plate on the bed, feeding Mae small forkfuls of food.

“Please tell me she’s alright. She looked absolutely knackered, she’s drenched,” Parr worries, her free hand tangling up in her hair and pulling at it in frustration. “I don’t think I can do the full trip. I miss her too much.”

“She’s had a rough afternoon since you left. Napped right after that–I brought her dinner up to your room but caught her in the middle of a nightmare.” Anne explains honestly, not wanting to sugarcoat anything. “I’ve told the others and we’re all helping out with keeping her occupied. It’s okay, Cathy. I told you, we’ve got her.”

“Okay, okay,” Parr breathes. “Just, update me more often, please?”

“I will, don’t worry. I’m currently trying to get some food into her first before getting her ready for bed. We’ll call you again first thing in the morning.”

“You’re the best, thank you,” Parr smiles through the line. “Could you put me back on video? Just want to say good night to her.”

“Of course, hold on,” Anne switches it back to video and gives her phone to Mae, who was in a slightly better mood than how she found her minutes ago.

It was going to be a long four days.


	2. Chapter 2

“How am I going to tell Mae?” 

Parr was at the tail end of her week-long trip and despite her heavy media schedule, she was able to sneak in calls with her daughter almost every night, and the queens all did their best to keep Mae occupied while she was away.

But unfortunately, those calls spanned only around half an hour altogether and inclement weather warnings have been announced, resulting in her flight being delayed for another several hours.

“Cathy, she really does miss you badly,” Anne commented, running her fingers through her hair. She loved Mae as much as she loved her own, but she wasn’t going to lie and say it was a complete walk in the park. “I’d offer to tell her but I really don’t know how that’s going to go down.” 

“No, no, I’ll tell her, it’s alright,” Parr swallows. With the delay and travel time, she’s not even sure if she’ll be able to come home by tomorrow. “Could you put her on the phone?”

“Yeah, of course, hold on,” Anne quickly goes upstairs to Cathy’s room and finds Mae in Aragon’s arms, her head against her shoulder and little thumb in her mouth. “Mae, someone’s on the phone for you.” 

Anne quickly presses the video call button and holds it in front of Mae. Parr’s heart grips at the sight of her girl—she’s definitely lost weight, and her eyes are tired and dull, not holding that usual shine she sees in them everyday. 

“Hi, Mae,” Parr starts, not sure how to break the news to her. “How’s my baby girl?” 

Mae pulls her thumb out of her mouth and rests her fist against Aragon’s chest. When Mae stares at the phone without an ounce of emotion, Anne swallows thickly. 

“Hey, baby, are you alright?” Parr asks, and Aragon wanted to jump in and tell her all about the sleepless nights, the nightmares, the skipped meals, constant questions of _is mama even ever coming back_ —she bites her tongue, opts to kiss Mae’s forehead instead. 

“Mae, your mama’s asking you a question,” Aragon whispers into her hairline, and Mae leans her cheek on her shoulder, still looking blankly between the floor and the phone. 

“No, it’s alright,” Parr wipes her sleeve across her cheek. “I just wanted to let you know that my flight’s been delayed, I’m stuck here for another few hours.”

“When do you get home?” Aragon asks, holding the child in her arms even tighter. 

“I’m…I’m not sure. The weather’s really bad, but I hope they don’t delay any further.” 

“You promise five days, Mama,” Mae finally chimes in with a whimper, her voice trembling. “Today is five but you’re not here.”

“I know, baby, and I’m so, so, sorry,” Parr openly weeps now. She sees Mae wrap her arms around Aragon’s neck and cries into her chest. “I promise that—“ 

“ _No!_ ” Mae chokes out through her sobs, anger making her limbs shake. “I hate you! You promised!”

Parr clutches her phone, watching helplessly as her godmother attempts to comfort her daughter thousands of miles away from where she is. Aragon holds her close against her chest and Anne moves forward to rub her back. 

“Shh, it’s okay, _mija_ ,” Aragon soothes, and she looks at the camera from the side, sees Parr also choking back tears. She exhales through her nose. “Cathy, none of this is your fault. Just update us with your flight details so we know when to expect you, alright?” 

Parr nods and asks to talk to Anne in private. The minute she switched to audio, Parr immediately breaks down, almost heaving now. 

“Anne, she said she hates me, I’m…I don’t—,” Parr stammers, her heart pounding out of her chest as she cries in the middle of the airport. “I’ve let her down.” 

“Shh, Cathy, breathe for me, please,” Anne steps out of the room and walks back down the steps to the living room. “She doesn’t hate you, far from it. She’s just disappointed, she was just looking forward to seeing you later this evening.” 

“But she said—,” 

“Cathy, I promise. She doesn’t hate you. I’m sure she’ll forget about it the moment you come home, she hasn’t stopped asking for her Mama the past couple of the days.” Anne reassures, and Parr attempts to console herself, taking deeper breaths.

“Okay. Okay,” Parr releases a shaky breath, gripping the hair on her scalp tightly. “I’ll let you know once I’ve landed. Will you pick me up?” 

“Of course, I told you I would.” 

“Yeah, sorry,” Parr shakes her head. “Thank you. I’ll talk to you later.” 

“Keep safe, alright?” Anne reminds her before ending the call. She leans against the couch, flopping her head back and closing her eyes for a second before she feels a poke on her thigh. 

“Hmm?” Anne cracks one eye open and finds Mae standing in front of her. 

“Was that mama?” Mae asks shyly, and Anne hums in affirmation. “Was she mad at me?” 

“Oh, no, not at all, darling,” Anne pats the empty space next to her and Mae cuddles close. “But she was quite sad about what you’ve said.” 

“I didn’t mean it,” Mae says immediately, tears already welling up in her eyes. “She’s not gonna want to go home anymore because I said I hate her.” 

“That is the farthest thing from the truth,” Anne wraps her arm around her shoulders, wiping her tears with her free hand. “You know that if Cathy could only fly the plane herself, she would, just to get home to you.” 

“I made Mama sad, I saw her cry,” Mae sniffles. “Need t’say sorry.” 

“That’s very good, knowing you need to say sorry,” Anne comments, kissing the top of her head. Parr’s raised a really good kid. “I’m sure you can tell her yourself when she gets home. But for now, how about we look for something to do?” 

Anne manages to occupy Mae for the good part of the day, and it’s the most invested she’s seen the girl, compared to the past few days of her moping around and refusing meals. She receives a text from Parr around dinner time that they’ve already called for boarding, and that she’ll be landing a little before 7 in the morning.

_**I’ll just take a cab so you won’t have to wake up early.** _

_**No its fine. I’ll pick u up** _

_**You sure?** _

_**Yea. See you tom morning, buy me a coffee if u can. x** _

_**I’ll get the largest one. x** _

Anne helps Mae get ready for bed and she changes her into one of Parr’s old t-shirts, the hem reaching past her knees. She clips her hair up and takes a quick picture, reminding herself to show it to Parr when she picks her up. 

“Annie?” Mae calls out, and Anne lies down on the bed next to her for a while, only until she falls asleep. 

“Hmm?” 

“Thank you for,—“ Mae yawns. “For taking care of me when Mama wasn’t here.” 

“Oh, you’re very welcome, Mae.” Anne smiles, scooting closer to hug her tiny form on the bed. “Cathy just let me know that she’ll be here when you wake up. So the earlier to go to bed, the earlier you get to see her.” 

“Are you bringing her home?” Mae asks, her eyes already closed. 

“Yeah, I am. I’m picking her up at the airport before the sun comes up.”

“Can I come with you?” Mae pleads, her eyes flashing open. She turns to Anne on the bed and wraps her arms around her middle. “Please?” 

“Alright, but we’ll have to leave early. You think you can wake up by 5?” Anne asks, and Mae nods eagerly, snuggling deeper into the covers.

“Mama always sets a ‘larm.” Mae yawns, and leans down to kiss her forehead.

“It’s okay, I’ll come in to wake you up. Sweet dreams, love. I’ll be in the other room if you need me.” Anne untangles the girls’ arms from her waist and leaves the door slightly open, just in case. 

Mae feels as if she had just closed her eyes for a couple of minutes before Anne was tapping on her shoulder, telling her that they’ll be heading to the airport in a little while. Mae’s eyes slowly open and she sees her already ready to head out.

“Good morning, love. Come on, let’s change your out of your pyjamas,” Anne says, but Mae shakes her head blearily. She wanted to wear her mama’s shirt when she sees her. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll just get you a jacket and trousers, alright? Could you put your socks on?” Anne asks, and Mae nods, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes first before pulling out a pair and slipping them on. Anne helps her into the rest of her outfit before they head downstairs towards the car. She was strapping Mae into her carseat when she feels her phone vibrate in her back pocket.

**_Good morning, just landed. They’re still waiting to park the plane._ **

**_Got it, perfect timing, just about to leave_ **

**_See you, can’t wait to go home. Btw, soy latte?_ **

**_Yup._** Anne takes a quick glance at Mae. ** _And nana muffin pls. thanks x_**

**_Will do x_ **

Anne and Mae make their way to the airport, with Mae slipping in and out of sleep during the whole ride. Anne carries Mae out of the car and walks towards the Arrivals waiting area. 

“You alright, darling?” Anne asks Mae, and she nods, yawning before asking to be put down. She quickly obliges, offering to hold her hand instead. Her phone buzzes again. 

**_Almost out, are you here?_ **

**_waiting by arrivals_ **

**_Sounds like a band. Ok I’m coming! x_ **

Anne puts her phone away and the minute she looks up, she sees Parr scanning the crowd, her hands occupied with her suitcase and breakfast. They lock eyes and Parr grins, immediately walking towards her. 

“Look, darling, Mama’s home,” Anne tells Mae, and she tiptoes to spot her through the crowd. She sees her and quickly yanks her hand away, running towards Parr. 

“Mama, Mama!” Mae all but yells, and Parr is caught completely off guard, letting go of her stroller and kneeling down to catch her daughter in a fierce hug. 

“Hi, baby, Mama missed you so, so much,” Parr cries, peppering Mae’s face with kisses. Anne catches up to them and takes the paper bag from her hand so she can properly embrace her girl. 

“Mama, I’m sorry,” Mae says, burying her nose into her neck. “I don’t hate you.” 

“Oh, baby,” Parr exhales out a laugh. She picks Mae up and settles her on her hip, tutting at how light she’s become before taking the suitcase with her free hand. “It’s alright, I understand.” 

“Great to have you back, Cathy,” Anne smiles, leaning to kiss her cheek. 

“Happy to be back. Come on, let’s go home.” 


End file.
